The morning sunlight graced Fulda with a warm glow as the trio walked to the guild.

Stretching, Runa: "Mmmm, I slept great last night. I can't wait to get a quest started."

Beatrice: "Me too, so Soren, is your sword the only weapon you have?"

Soren: "Yeah, why?"

Beatrice: "Do you have anything to protect you?"

Soren: "Protect me? I have my sword to protect me."

Beatrice: "I meant like gear?"

Soren: "Gear?"

Runa: "Like armor, items, accessories, spells, and stuff like that?"

Soren: "No, I only have my sword."

Both girls stop in shock.

Beatrice: "Really? How are you alive?"

Runa: "Traveling alone is dangerous! Don't you have anything for protection? Not even a potion?"

Beatrice: "You're either crazy or a fool."

Soren: "I uh, heh heh, I guess I'm just lucky, heh." (Crap, I can't let anyone know I'm from another world. From now on, I'll have to be careful with what I say about myself.)

Runa: "Here.", She hands Soren a couple of small corked bottles that contain a dark green liquid.

Soren thinks to himself, "What's this?", He inspects one of the bottles and removes the cork to smell the liquid. It smells like medicine but different.

Soren: "Is this medicine?" putting the cork back on the bottle.

Runa: "What's medicine?"

Beatrice: "It's probably what they call it in his country. It's a potion, it can heal wounds, but these are low quality."

Soren: "O-Oh, yeah, that's what we call it in my country." (Play it off)

Beatrice: "Anyway, let's accept an easy quest so we can get Soren some armor mesh lining at least.", continuing toward the Guild.

Arriving at the Guild, Runa: "This is the place."

Soren looked around the building and then at the front door. He noticed the door had an elaborate logo. Upon entering, laughter and chatter can be heard. The Guild is an exquisite two-story interior with tables and chairs. The upstairs area walls are lined with bookshelves packed full of books of all sizes and thicknesses.

Soren, amazed, is looking around at all the adventurers in the building. Adventurers of all shapes and sizes, some wearing armor pieces and light armor, a few fully clad in plate armor, and the rest in regular clothing typical of an adventurer.

Runa: "Soren! Over here." The girls were at the front desk calling him over. Soren does not realize that he has fallen behind.

Beatrice: "This is our friend Soren, and he agreed to join us."

Guild Girl: "Hi, I'm Alulia. Welcome to Fulda's Adventure Guild. Oh! He looks interesting. Well, Mr. Soren, we'll need to register you. So the first step is to get some information and give you a brief introduction to how the Guild operates."

Soren thinks, I better be careful about what I say.

Soren: "S-Sure, ok, but you don't have to call me Mr."

Alulia: "Alright then." Smiling, "We operate under strict rules and guidelines that every adventurer must adhere to. Those who don't follow them will lose their registration and be barred from the Guild. Reputation is important, not just to us, but to those we conduct business with. Take this.", Handing Soren a Guild manual book, "Make sure you read everything in it."

Alulia grabbed a quill and notepad, then dipped the quill in ink, "So, crimson red hair, blue and green eyes...step on this scale, please."

Soren, thinking, a scale? Soren: "OK."

Alulia: "So, 72 kilograms....stand over here, please."

Soren thought, why does it feel like I'm at the DMV getting an ID?

Alulia: "183cm. The last thing we'll need is a 3rd party witness to vouch for you."

Soren: "Why do I need a witness?"

Alulia: "Well, should the worse happen to you, they'll be the person to identify you. We do this because many wannabe adventurers come and go, and we can't keep track of them all."

Soren: "OK, can Beatrice and Runa vouch for me?"

Alulia: "Unfortunately, it has to be someone not in your group. Is there anyone else you can think of?"

Beatrice: "We got our recommendations from Hilda."

Runa: "You should ask her."

Soren: "No, she's already done a lot for me; I can't keep asking her for favors."

Runa: "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Soren: "I know, but still.."

Soren thought, who else is there? I'm not of this world. I don't have anyone else I can think of, oh!

He pulls out the merchant card he received from Dalic.

Soren: "Dalic!"

Both girls: "Dalic...?"

Alulia: "Dalic...Dalic Strossen, the merchant?"

Soren: "Yes, ma'am."

Alulia: "May I ask how you met him?"

Soren: "I was traveling to Fulda when I was attacked by a rabbit-looking beast and lost my coin. I met him at the gate, and he was nice enough to pay my toll."

Alulia: "Alright, then please have him sign this letter of recommendation." She handed Soren the document.

Soren: "OK, thank you, Miss Alulia. We'll be back soon."

Alulia: "OK, see you soon." Smiling

As they exit the guild. Runa: "So where can we find this Dalic?"

Beatrice: "We should check the merchant district, and if we can't find him there, we'll look around-"

"Well, if it isn't my favorite girl, Lady Beatrice.", A blue-eyed, blonde-haired man approached the group when he heard Beatrice's voice. He's wearing light, full-body silver armor and carries a large sword.

Beatrice: "Ugh, please, no.."

"Oh?...and the lovely Miss Runa." Runa gives a polite reluctant wave to the man.

Beatrice: "What do you want? We're busy."

"I came to collect my reward for completing our arduous quest, and now the gods bestow their honor by gracing me with your radiance. Tell me, have you decided yet to join me?"

Beatrice: "I've told you already it's not happening."

"Then, may I treat you, ladies, to a nice breakfast?"

Beatrice: "Sorry, we have somewhere we need to be."

The man notices Soren and scoffs, "You mean with this...boy?"

Beatrice: "What's it to you?"

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Runa: "He's part of our group."

"My Lady, you deserve much better than this...peasant."

Soren: "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, filthy peasant."

Soren is starting to show anger on his face from being insulted.

"Oh, what's this? Are you going to challenge me?"

Beatrice: "Ignore it, don't let him provoke you." Beatrice places her hand on Sorens' arm, trying to calm him.

"If you don't care for what I'm saying, show your worth and prove you deserve to be by her side."

Soren: "I have nothing to prove to you!"

"Hmph, spoken like a coward.", The man ran his hand through his hair.

Beatrice: "Look! I've told you several times already! So leave me alone already, asshole! Ugh! Whatever we have to go. Come on, Runa." Beatrice pulls Soren by the arm.

As the trio is walking away. The Blonde Man: "One of these days, Beatrice WILL be mine!"

Runa: "Ugh, he's such a jerk."

Soren: "Who was he?"

Beatrice: "His name is Elwin Barrich. He's an idiot man-child with a hero complex."

Soren: "So what's his deal? Why was he badgering me?"

Beatrice: "He's been after me for a long time, wanting me to join his party. I keep rejecting him, but he's not getting it through his thick skull. Seeing you with us must have twisted his undies. I would be careful around him. Even though he is an idiot, he's an experienced adventurer and strong."

Soren: "Sounds like being a party member is not why he wants you."

Beatrice: "When I think about what goes through his head and what he has planned for me, I just...." Beatrice shivers" ..ugh I don't want to think about it anymore."

Runa: "Oh, I think this is the place.", As the trio enters, looks of confusion cross their faces.

Beatrice: "What...is this place?"

Soren: "Hello? Dalic, are you here?"

Grunting was heard from the back room, "Oh, just a moment."

Dalic: "Welcome to, oh! Welcome, my boy. I'm glad you've come. And with two beautiful women in tow no less, you devil, hehe."

Soren: "It's not like that."

Dalic: "Relax, I'm only kidding. So what can I do for you? Have you come to repay me?"

Soren: "Actually, that's kind of why I'm here." turning toward the girls, "I've joined their party, and I'm trying to register at the guild, but I need a signed recommendation. I was hoping you would do that for me. That way, I can pay you back."

"Of course, my boy, hehe, anything for you," Dalic said, grinning

Soren hands over the document.

"Hi, I'm Beatrice."

"I'm Runa."

Dalic: "The pleasure is mine.. wait, I didn't get your name when first we met."

Soren: "Oh, that's right, it's Soren." (I'm glad I didn't have to give him two different names)

Dalic: "Well, nice to officially meet you. Here you go.", Dalic hands the letter of recommendation back to Soren.

Runa: "So.. what kind of shop is this? What exactly do you sell?"

Dalic: "I sell whatever you want to buy. I can show you around if you wish."

Soren: "What is this stuff?"

Dalic: "See anything you like?" Dalic begins to show the trio around his shop in an attempt to make a sale.

Both girls have uneasy looks on their faces. Dalic: "Oh, don't worry, what I sell is.. mostly legitimate, but I stand by treating my customers with the care and dignity they deserve."

Soren: "I apologize, but another time. We're in a hurry, so we should get going. Thank you for the recommendation. I'll see you first thing after we complete a request."

Dalic: "Sure, let me know if you need anything."

Returning to the Guild, Runa: "I was a little uncomfortable in there."

Beatrice: "Yeah, definitely some shadiness going on in there."

Soren: "Well, for now, I won't judge him. He did help me out when I first arrived here.

The trio enters the Guild and walks to the front desk.

Alulia: "Welcome back."

Soren: "Here you go, Miss Alulia." Hands over the document.

She looked over the document. Alulia: "Everything appears to be in order. Give me a moment to make your registration card."

Beatrice: "While we wait, let's check out the bulletin board." Soren follows Beatrice to the board.

Beatrice: "This is the information board. Requests for adventurers are placed on this board. They're mostly for beast extermination but can be anything from exterminating, transport escorting, exploring, bodyguarding, assisting laborers, and civic duties. Though many adventurers feel they're above anything that doesn't require them to use their weapons."

Beatrice: "Here we go.", Grabs a request off the board, "This would be a good first quest for us. The city libraries' basement has become infested with Muridae."

Shivers, Runa: "Ugh, I can't stand those things. Can we do something else?"

Beatrice: "Suck it up." Laughs, "It'll be fine, just look out 'cause they like to bite, and theirs usually a swarm of them. It looks like each Muridae is worth one silver.

Soren: "So, how does the currency system here work?"

Beatrice: "Oh, that's easy. Five copper coins are worth one bronze, two bronze are worth one silver, and ten silver are worth one gold."

**𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐.𝙎. 𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚. 𝘾𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮, 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙯𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧/𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙.**

Alulia: "Soren!", The trio walks back to the front desk, "Here you go, your registration card. Oh, is that a request you have? The library infestation? This has been on the board for a while. They sealed off the basement and were able to close the hole they made to get in, but no one knew how they got in there. So the reward is one silver per beast, and if you can find out why they were in there, we'll award a bonus."

Soren: "Sounds good. We'll take it."

Alulia: " Sure, though I would stock up on potions and antidotes in case they're infectious, just to be safe. They can be dangerous, but their real threat is in their numbers." Alulia pulls out what appears to be a metal hand stamp and ink from under the desk and proceeds to dip it in ink and stamp the request.

Alulia: "Here, hand this to the library receptionist."

Now the trio headed to the library. Runa: "Should we stop to buy some antidotes?"

Beatrice: "No, I think we'll be ok. My bracelet should be able to handle it."

In the distance, they see a huge building, almost cathedral-like. Soren: "Is that the library."

Runa: "It sure is. It has a surprising amount of information and learning material. It has information on crafts, agriculture, education, and history, among many other subjects."

Soren: "I remember Beatrice mentioning spells yesterday. Do they have books on spells?"

Beatrice: "No, for spell books and other forms of magic, you'll need to go to the Association."

Soren: "Association?"

Beatrice: "The Mages' Association. Just like how you'd go to the Guild to learn about beasts, you go to the Association to learn about magic spells, scrolls, runes, and items, stuff like that."

Runa: "If you want to learn about botany, creation, transformation, and such, to learn about potions and other items like that, you go to the Institute of Alchemy."

Soren thought, "I have much to learn about this world."

They enter the library and speak with the receptionist.

Receptionist: "Hi, how can I help you?"

Soren hands over the request, "Great, thank you for accepting. Let me know when you're ready, and I'll take you to the basement."

Beatrice: "We're ready now."

Receptionist: "OK, then follow me. The receptionist leads them to the basement.

Soren: "Is there anything you can tell us about the Muridae?"

Receptionist: "I can tell you they're disgusting, and I can't stand them!"

Runa: "I know how you feel."

Feeling uneasy, the Receptionist: "S-So here is the door to the basement. Please enter quickly when I open the door. I don't want one of those nasty things running through here." She puts her hand on a copper square next to the door, and lightning sparks start coming from her hand, covering the copper square.

Receptionist: "There, I lit up the lanterns in the basement. Please enter." She opens the door.

Soren: "Did.. she use that copper to conduct electricity?"

Beatrice: "Amazing, right? It was something that was discovered around 15 years ago."

As the trio begins walking down the stairs, Soren notices the walls and floor are made of cobblestone. It's less luxurious than the library interior. Squeaking can be heard throughout the basement and Runa shivers.

Beatrice: "We should spit up to cover more ground. This basement is pretty big."

Runa: "NO! I don't want to be alone. I can't stand these things."

Beatrice: "Come ON, Runa. How about I treat you to your favorite dessert after we've collected the reward." Runa reluctantly agrees.

They split up, and Soren starts walking in the opposite direction. He suddenly hears loud squeaking and looks around the corner to see a bunch of Muridae.

Soren: "Wait.. these are rats, but they're huge! They look like they're bigger than my boot!" He pulled out his sword and proceeded to charge at them. He managed to stab a couple of them while the others ran off. Suddenly a group of them return, attacking Soren and attempting to bite him, "AH!" One of them managed to bite and latch onto his leg, but he kicked it off. He then cuts down one more. The rats charge at him again. Soren starts to back up but trips on a container, falling. The rats swarm him covering him, biting him all over, "AH! GET OFF ME!"

Stabbing a couple more and throwing some off of him, a rat then jumps at him. It felt like slow motion as Soren recalls the rabbit beast attacking him. Suddenly, SLASH. Beatrice cut the rat in half.

Beatrice: "Runa! Help me get these Muridae off him!"

Runa: "I'm coming!" The trio is slashing and striking the rats, and more begin showing up and swarming all of them. The trios' clothing is ripped and torn by biting and cutting with their claws.

Runa: "AH, theirs too many of them!"

Beatrice: "Keep fighting! We'll get through this!". They fought off the rats, killing most of them, and the rest fled.

The trio panting and exhausted, Soren: "THIS is EASY!?"

Beatrice: "Are you ok, Soren?"

Runa: "I don't know. Something doesn't feel right."

Soren gets up then, "Ack!"

Runa: "What's wrong!?"

Soren: "I feel dizzy and sick. I can barely hold my sword up.. pain everywhere."

Beatrice: "You've been poisoned! Hold still!". She extends her right hand with the bracelet, and the green light emits. Soren's wounds heal, and some of his strength has returned, but the poison wasn't completely removed.

Soren: "Thank you, I'm feeling a little better, but I'm still nauseous."

Beatrice: "The poison wasn't completely removed. We need to finish this quickly and get you an antidote. I'm sorry, Soren, we should have stopped to stock up first."

Soren: "Don't, uck, don't worry about it. You're doing your best. Let's finish this."

Suddenly Runa gasps in horror, and her eyes get big. Soren and Beatrice look at her and then in the direction she's looking, and the same look of horror crosses their faces.

Beatrice: " A GIANT MURIDAE!?"

Runa: "W-What do we do!?"

Soren: "We have to kill it! We can't let something like that end up running through the town. AAARGH!" Soren charges at it. The giant rat attempts to bite him, but he dodges. He then slashes it across the chest, and it screams in pain. It swipes him with its claw, knocking him back.

Beatrice: "Soren!" Runa: "Are you ok?"

Soren: "UGH, I'm fine!" He charges again, but the rat catches him around the neck with its tail, "GUGH!" Soren starts struggling to breathe. He tries to cut off the rat's tail, but the sword won't go through. Beatrice gets up and charges in. She swings at the rat, but it jumps back.

Beatrice: "LET HIM GO!" She screamed, trying to intimidate the rat, but it had no effect. Runa got up and threw a dagger, striking the beast. It let out a furious shriek and was beginning to charge at Runa. With fear in her eyes, Runa braces for the attack knowing she won't be able to run.

Soren, still choking, "NO, YOU DON'T!". While being swung, he was close enough to strike the rat. He plunges his sword into the rat's side, and the rat shrieks again in agony. The rat then smashes Soren against the cobblestone wall, hitting his head. "UACK!".

The girls scream in horror as Soren goes limp, no longer struggling. "SOREN!!!"

The rat, shrieking in agony, swings and throws him.

Beatrice: "NO SOREN!! PLEASE GETUP! GET UP!!"

Runa: "SOREN!? SOREN!!"

Both girls start crying.

"No....please...Soren."

...